Venue case study: Chard Equestrian
Chard is another amazing BD venue in England but also hosts a large range different disciplines, including British Showjumping, British Eventing and does venue hire for Riding Clubs and Pony Clubs and is our second sustainable venue case study!
Rainwater harvesting
Chard Equestrian is completely off the gird, and has no mains water supply, leading them to introduce a full rainwater harvesting system. The harvested rain water is used for the permanent stables and is processed through a full filtration and UV system.
Solar panels
The yard and venue runs on solar power, with solar panelse with a battery back up. There is also a further generator back up which is also about to be converted on to HVO fuel as well.
Chard started as a green field site in 2011 and they looked into installing mains electric and the costs were quite serious, Althogh solar panels were also a significant investment, but they provided a more sustainable option.
Wind Turbine
In their next step towards being more sustainable they are looking at installing a small wind turbine, which would reduce the need for the back up generator.
Arena Surfaces
They also chose Equestrian Surfaces as their supplier for the arena surfaces as it meets the Environment Agency’s tests and they continue to win green awards and desination net zero awards.
Milage
In order to reduce the milage of suppliers Chard work with A.W.Jenkinsons to recieve full artic lorry loads of shavings deliveries at a time and also work with their stable supplier Cheval Libertie, as the venue is used to store stables to help reduce milage wherever possible.
How to make a difference
Solar panels allow for energy independence, for those venues that are off the grid and ensures reliable power even during power outages. By generating your own engergy with solar panels or wind turbines eequestrain centres can save money on utility bills whilst creating clean and renewable resource.
HVO fuel is a renewable, paraffinic diesel made from waste vegetable oils and animal fats, offering up to a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to fossil diesel. This could be a great alternative if you use generators to supply power on events.
Share your story
If your yard has initiatives in place that have a postive effect on the evironment and help us as equestrians work towards a cleaner future, we would love to hear about them. Email us on greenteam@britishdressage.co.uk to share your story!